Africa October 2014: Itinerary & Favorite Photos

Travel dates for this trip were October 12-October 28, 2014. Itinerary and accommodations are as follows (number in parenthesis is number of nights stayed at lodging):

Lansing to Nairobi via Amsterdam

Karen – Macushla House (2)

 

Unfortunately, this site is not currently working [March, 2022]

Located in the Karen area, Macushla House is very convenient if you are going to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Kazuri Beads, Utamaduni Craft Centre and the Galleria Mall. There are many positive reviews on Trip Advisor about this lodging, particularly for solo female travelers, and it did not disappoint.

After my long flights from the U.S., I was picked up by All Seasons Safaris and taken to Macushla House (about a 45 minute drive from JKIA airport). Upon arrival, everything was very dark – the reason was a total power black out in the area. An extremely welcoming staff member greeted me with a lantern and showed me to my room. Luckily when I pack, I have everything needed for the first night and next day in one packing cube (Eagle Creek). This was especially helpful on this trip. I just located my travel alarm, took a quick shower and went to sleep.

The next morning, I was anxious to look about the grounds and the house and in the morning sunlight, it’s very welcoming. There are only 6 guest rooms so demand can be high. The rooms are large with a very comfortable queen/king size bed with mosquito netting. The bathroom is also a good size and with lots of lights. The only negative thing I would mention, and it has been mentioned on Trip Advisor a fair amount of times, is the lack of water pressure to the showers. There is plenty of water pressure at the tub faucet, and the shower sprayers looked quite new, but lacked pressure making hair rinsing a little difficult (I ended up rinsing my hair under the tub faucet). When I mentioned this to one of the women working, they happily moved me from Room 6 to Room 4 (which had slightly better pressure).

Food is well prepared here. In the evening, you are given a menu to choose from for breakfast the next day. There is a lot of variety and the food yummy. After a day of excursions, I was greeted by owner Carolyn, who is extremely engaging in conversation and very interested in making sure you are comfortable. I also ate dinner in the dining area. I chose chicken and peanut stir fry which was excellent. A very filling dinner and soft drink were $17 USD.

The grounds are well maintained and interesting to walk about and look for birds. I walked the path past a cottage house which looked nice. There is a large swimming pool, but I didn’t use it. Fast internet is also available in the lounge area by the dining room at no charge.

Although not everyone may like this, there are resident cats and a dog I saw walking about. Really made me feel at home.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy Sweetwaters Tented Camp (3)

 

Although I had just stayed at Sweetwaters 7 months prior to this trip, I had to return. I just love this place. On this trip, I stayed for 3 nights which I heard is very unusual.

Every staff person I encountered was extremely helpful, friendly and always willing to go above and beyond. They truly seem to enjoy their jobs.

Although my guide and I arrived after serving time for lunch, the dining room staff welcomed us and assured us there was no problem having food. Upon request, guides are allowed to eat with their clients at no additional charge (just mention it at the reception desk). Most lodging, if they do allow it, will charge extra if the guide/driver is not eating in the driver’s quarters. Food is excellent with a lot of choices. All meals were buffet during this stay.

For this trip, I requested Tent #1 as I had stayed there in 2010. It’s close to the dining area, has a king size bed and an amazing view of the water hole. I felt like I was back home. They remodeled the bathroom area in 2012 making it even nicer with a privacy curtain for the shower as well as the toilet area. The entire bathroom area is partitioned off from the rest of the tent. There was plenty of hot water, just need to let it run for a minute or two.

The gift shop at this location is also one of my favorites. They have a great selection (one of my treasures was a book called Laikipia – A Natural History Guide with beautiful illustrations) and reasonable prices. The woman who works in the shop is extremely helpful. I bought a t shirt on my way out of the camp in March and found it didn’t fit. So I brought it back this trip, all packaged in a plastic zip lock bag. I could see she was overjoyed to find the same shirt for me in a different size. Success!

Internet is available at no additional charge. The best reception is in the lounge and tv lounge area.

One of my trip highlights and the reason I returned again so soon to Sweetwaters, was the possibility of seeing wild dogs. This trip did not disappoint. Another reason for staying more than just 1 night as we saw them on 2 game drives. I was beyond excited.

Samburu Game Lodge (2)

 

Unfortunately, this lodging has closed permanently.

This lodge is located along the Ewaso Ng’iro river under shady trees which is a good thing, as the Samburu area tends to be quite warm.

Room #40 (located close to the dining area) is a sizeable room with twin beds which they pushed together to give me a larger bed. Mosquito netting is used at bedtime. I especially enjoyed the fact that it also has a seating area with a comfortable small couch and chair and lamp. It’s nice to be able to have a comfortable location to sit to review photos, read or write. There is also a desk in the room.

The bathroom was a good size with a shower with excellent water pressure and plenty of hot water. The rain shower was fantastic. One thing I did notice, is that especially in the bathroom area, there were lots of tiny bugs that seem to be drawn to the white sink area. But they did have a can of Doom to use, which did take care of them.

There is no internet at this location. I asked at the desk and they told me if necessary, I could check email briefly in the main office. However, when I inquired, it was either being used by a staff person, or the connection didn’t work.

Power at this location is run off a generator therefore is off during certain times of the day. The room did have a fan which was nice because of the warm temperatures in the area, but since the power went off at bedtime until 5:3am, there is no fan for sleeping. The rooms do however have windows with screens that can be left open at night to get a little breeze.

I would rate the food at this location as average. All meals during this stay were buffet. One thing I particularly enjoyed during dinner, was the entertaining genet cats that come to the dining area. They are looking for morsels of food that are dropped (or fed to them). They are beautiful animals. In the early morning, tea, hot chocolate, coffee and a breakfast cake are available in the bar area before heading out on an early morning game drive.

In the evening just before dinner, some resident crocs are fed near the dining area. Although I did not see it when it happened, I did see 2 rather large crocs on the riverbank area enjoying the end of their snacks. I’m not sure I agree with feeding animals that might otherwise look for their own food, but other guests seemed to be enjoying it.

There is a good size gift shop that has air conditioning.

Lake Naivasha Sopa (2)

 

My last stay at Lake Naivasha Sopa was in 2010. Since that time, they have expanded the dining area with a nice wing to house the buffet stations. That really does help to maintain a quieter level of noise where the guests are sitting. The quality of food here is quite good and there is a good selection of desserts (my favorite part of the meal).

Room #40 was a little distance from the dining and lounge area but the walk is along a nice, well lit pathway with beautiful flowers. In the evening when it is dinner time, it is requested that you be escorted to the dining area. The hippos come in at darkness to graze right outside your windows.

The rooms here are very large. On this trip, I had an upper level room which I liked better than the lower level. You can see Lake Naivasha through the trees. This room had a king sized bed, desk area and 2 comfortable chairs and a small table. The outside patio had furniture to sit at. It was enjoyable sitting and watching the vervet monkeys, waterbuck, hippo, horses, zebras and giraffe (although this trip, the giraffes were elsewhere) right from the balcony.

The bathroom was quite large with a large stall shower and plenty of immediate hot water.

Internet is available (at no extra charge) in the seating area in the main building where the dining area is. Plenty of comfortable lounge chairs here. I did find however, that internet could also be picked up in my room.

Hells Gate National Park and boat rides out on Lake Naivasha are closeby.

Mara Serena (2)

 

This was my third stay at Mara Serena and another favorite lodging of mine. The lodge has a wonderful view of the valley and the Mara River. It is not unusual to be able to see birds, baboons, vervet monkeys, bush bucks, cape buffalo, giraffes and other wildlife right outside your balcony window.

I had asked for a room with a larger bed and they said I was assigned to Room 1. Having stayed in that room in March of this year, I knew the room had twin beds. They happily pushed the beds together making it into a king bed which I prefer. The room is a little smaller than some other Serena properties, but has a nice desk area as well as 2 chairs and a table in the balcony area to sit at.

The bathroom space is adequate with a shower that has plenty of hot water, sometimes almost too much. Nice assortment of toiletries.

Make sure when you are out of the room, that your balcony doors are closed and latched. A vervet monkey (referred to as a naughty monkey) climbed the nearby tree and was keeping a close watch while I was relaxing in the patio area. What I didn’t realize while I was sitting there was that a couple of baboons were walking on the ground right under the windows. Apparently, they were going room to room, looking for an open window. One minute I was sitting there relaxing and making some journaling notes. The next moment a large baboon jumped up onto the railing and was staring at me 6 feet away. I clapped my hands and it ran off but it was a little unnerving.

The food at this property is very good with a large variety. The live cooking station is particularly good for breakfast (and they even made fresh waffles while you wait) and for dinner (good pasta stir fry). This location had one of the better dessert selections of this trip.

I visited the gift shop on this visit looking for a couple of the items I had purchased in March, but they were no longer available.

Internet service was available in the room for no additional charge and was working and fast this stay.

Staff at the front desk, dining area and my room attendant (Ben) were all very helpful and friendly.

Mara Ilkeliani Camp (2)

 

This camp is located about 20 minutes from the Talek Gate to the Mara via a small town. Tents are right alongside the Talek River with a pleasant sound of water flowing.

Upon arrival to the open air reception, you are welcomed with the refreshing drink and washcloths and staff that give a very thorough orientation to the camp. I also appreciated that they let you know there is a central tip box. The central tip box is mentioned frequently on Trip Advisor as a way to make sure all employees, even those preparing your meals, share in what you may leave. Most places I’ve stayed do not have this which means taking smaller bills.

There is a small gift shop located in a tent near the reception but I didn’t visit it.

Tent #1 East was quite large with a big, comfortable bed. There were no mosquito nets. The room also had a desk which I find very convenient for journaling. If I had to make a suggestion in the tents (which I did mention to the Manager), there needs to be better lighting in the bathroom area. There is a lantern mounted up high by the roof. It can be a little challenging to put in contact lenses or for men, shaving. The shower has a nice rain shower, but the water had a strong smell of minerals. I don’t know if it is from sedimentation in the water tanks or some other reason.

Although the selections for meals is more limited than some locations (usually with one option but when they offered fish at a dinner and I mentioned that I didn’t eat fish, they had no problem cooking a very nice beef dish), the food is very good and well prepared. The presentation of the meals is some of the best I’ve seen at any lodges/tented camps.

Internet is available at no additional charge at the lounge area next to the main dining tent. It was very fast. The lounge is a great place to sit and relax, enjoy a drink, look at books or use the internet. I also found it very entertaining watching the bats in the evening feasting on insects.

In the evening at dinner, you are escorted to and from your tent.

Nairobi Safari Park Hotel (1)

 

My last visit to Safari Park Hotel was in 2009. I was left with an ‘average’ impression on that trip. This time, I’d rate the lodging as very good. Check in was handled more smoothly, staff friendlier and food even better.

My stay for this trip was in Leopard Room #409 (ground level). This Junior Suite room was very large, with a king bed. Mattress was slightly harder than I’m used to but it didn’t matter as I was tired from the long drive from the Mara.

The bathroom is enormous with a nice soaking tub and shower with lots of water pressure. Plenty of counter space as well as lots of good lighting. Everything was spotless.

The room offers a mini bar and snack basket but after looking at the price for a regular sized Snickers bar ($4 USD), I didn’t look any further.

I had dinner in the Cafe Kigwa (which is also where the buffet breakfast is served). Food is available 24 hours which is good because you never know when you might be hungry. The chicken/asparagus pasta dish was so good, I had it two days in a row. The portions were very generous. Cost for this entree was 900 KSH. Depending on your time for dinner, the buffet may or may not be available. When I arrived, a wide variety of items off the menu was the option.

I think my biggest disappointment at this location is that internet is not free. The hotel is a large conference center and considering all the other places I stayed at, had free wi fi, I would have expected it at this location as well. Rates for wi fi were 1000 KSH/hour or 2000 KSH/24 hour time frame.

Security at this hotel is very high. Guards are walking the grounds at all times, asking if you need any assistance or if there is anything they can do for you.

Having now stayed at the Intercontinental, Ole Sereni, Fairview, Macusha House, and Safari Park Hotel, I’d rank this hotel as a favorite.

Traveling with All Seasons Safaris

 

Having traveled to Africa in March 2009, January 2010, May 2012 and March 2014, I wanted to see a different time of the year. I had an excellent travel experience with All Seasons Safaris for the March 2014 trip making the choice for this trip easy.

Within a month of returning from the March trip, I felt the call to return to Africa. The one time “trip of a life time” doesn’t seem to work for me. I’ve only been back a week, and I’m already homesick for the wildlife, the hyenas which yipped me to sleep at night, the great food, the wonderful people and my great guide, Daniel.

Being my 5th trip, I pretty much know what my expectations are. I know I prefer to travel solo because I take lots of photos which requires patience. I like to stay at least 2 nights in all locations so I can relax a little and enjoy the camps/lodges/staff. I prefer to be out at first light of the day, take a mid day break and go out later in the afternoon and enjoy dusk creeping in. I need a driver who easily engages in conversation, makes me feel safe (important as a solo traveler), and has no problem keeping to my preferred scheduled. I have a pretty good idea of where I’d like to stay but at the same time, am opened to suggestions by those in the know.

All Seasons Safaris has been a good fit for me.

My itinerary on this trip was (I’ve posted separate lodging reviews under each location):

Macushla House for the first two nights as I wanted to visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for both the public and adoptive parent visitations, Kazuri Bead Factory, Utamaduni Craft Center and Galleria Mall for Nakumatt shopping. Utamaduni Craft Center was new to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, the prices may be a little higher (but not much) but the selection is wonderful and there is not the pressure to haggle. I ate lunch there also and the food was excellent.

Sweetwaters Tented Camp for 3 nights. Management told me almost no one stays more than 2 nights. I stayed 3 and could have easily stayed 5. My main reason for returning so soon (other than the fact I love the place) was for a chance to see wild dogs. This visit did not disappoint and I had 2 opportunities with these amazing critters.

Samburu Game Lodge for 2 nights – another new location for me. Good area for seeing lots of wildlife

Lake Naivasha Sopa for 2 nights – wanted to take the boat ride out again to enjoy more birds and wildlife and have some time to just enjoy waking about the beautiful grounds.

Mara Serena for 2 nights – I love the location in the Mara Triangle. Saw such amazing wildlife including a mother cheetah and her 4 cubs. I’ve seen cheetahs but never small cubs.

Mara Ilkeliani Camp – 2 nights – another new location for me. Location was based on being on a different side of the Mara and a good chance to see some larger cats. Although we saw some, it was very disappointing at how far we had to drive westward from the Talek area so see them. The Masai have been allowed to graze their cattle at night in this park, eating much of what the grazers would eat. They have scared off the larger predators and decreased the game they typically eat. It is really a shame and if not stopped, many of these camps will have no clients as there is not much game to see nearby.

Safari Park Hotel – 1 night and day room – originally the extra night was not planned here but an itinerary adjustment was made due to a death in my guide’s family. But doing so gave me yet another opportunity to visit my 3 chubbies at the orphanage and it also gave me a good night’s rest before the long fight home. I believe on future trips, I may add this added night in.

All Seasons Safaris once again came through for me. Communication with Alex is always timely and detailed. In this case when a slight adjustment was needed, I was consulted to make sure I was ok with the change. My guide Daniel could have not been a better match as he shares a love of photography, is an excellent spotter/driver/conversationalist and is very intuitive about my expectations for safari. Ann and Samuel (my airport greeters) and Joseph (my last day driver) were also great. I enjoyed dinner with Alex on my last night in Nairobi and he is always anxious to hear how things went and what improvements they could make.

It is not unusual on any safari to have minor snags which the client may or may not be aware of. Many of the safari companies are now using the M-PESA mobile money transfer system to ‘top off’ the card for the guides so they don’t have to carry large amount of cash with them for park fees and fuel. I can understand wanting to use this because it is sometimes necessary for the guides/drivers to share quarters with someone they don’t know. However, the transfers can sometimes have delays in their transactions which are then passed along to the clients. My hope would be that if this is the system they are going to continue to use, it might work a little more smoothly.

Homesick for Africa and already thinking of my next travels with All Seasons Safaris.

The Best of the Trip

 

The JOY of visiting my ellie boys Kithaka and Barsilinga and also my new, sweet little girl Dupotto up close and personal at the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi. I knew I’d be able to see them twice on this trip, but it was even added fun being able to see them a third time.

Having two great photographic opportunities of a group of wild dogs while staying at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Seeing them once was at the top of my ‘want’ list. But having a second opportunity with them was pure pleasure.

Spending time watching the communication that happens within an elephant family and not feeling rushed to move on as if you have an animal checklist.

An amusing encounter with a young elephant right next to the vehicle in Samburu. The youngster had a stick in its trunk, swaying it back and forth. We paused for a minute to watch and capture a couple of photos. Suddenly, the youngster deliberately threw the stick at the side of the vehicle. Didn’t really understand why, but we departed after a good laugh.

A great photographic opportunity with a mother cheetah and her four youngsters in the Mara Triangle. And even better, there were no other vehicles on site to frighten them away.

Running into my driver from the 2009 trip while in the Mara waiting for a leopard to come down from a tree.

Witnessing two lionesses and their 4 cubs having an altercation with some elephants in the bush. Not sure exactly what was going on, but when the lions came out of the vegetation, they settled close by to us and we were able to sit and photograph them, again without any other vehicles to disturb them for almost two hours.

Traveling with a guide who shares my interest in photography.  Their ability to spot, appreciation of good lighting and angles, patience and thoughtfulness made this my best trip ever.

The Less than Best of the Trip

 

Saying good bye to my young ellies Kithaka and Barsilinga, wish them well, knowing they will soon be moved to their next step of rehabilitation towards the wild. Always a bittersweet moment, but realizing that this is how it should be for them. Thank you to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for making this a possibility in their lives.

Feeling homesick for what I consider my second home, Kenya, an amazing place full of hospitable people, incredible wildlife and wonderful smells and sounds. I feel blessed to have had this fifth opportunity to visit and look forward to returning again.

Favorite Photos